Kentucky Senator Delivers Letter To Russia

11 August 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented his United States counterpart Donald Trump at the July 16 summit in Helsinki with a number of particular initiatives on arms control, including prohibiting weapons in space, Politico wrote on Tuesday citing a leaked Russian document, TASS reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hands at the conclusion of their joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018.

Christopher J. Gagin, who revealed he was the Republican Party chairman from OH who resigned after the Helsinki summit, pointed out that Trump defended Putin's denials of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to reporters after Senate Republicans unveiled their version of legislation that would replace Obamacare on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2017.

The Washington Post viewed a copy of the eight-page document, which may be created to send the signal that the Trump White House takes election interference seriously. In the letter, the President mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin", deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement to pool reporters.

The president later corrected some of his remarks, saying he misspoke.

On Monday, he invited Russian lawmakers to visit Washington after holding talks in Moscow with parliamentarians and pledging to block new sanctions against Russia. "He is interested in legislative exchanges, parliamentary dialogue and cultural and educational exchange programs, increased counter-terrorism cooperation, building on recent successes like the disruption of the St. Petersburg plot and resolution of the military conflicts in Syria and Ukraine".

The relationship has also created divisions within the administration. Congressional elections will take place in November. The U.S. director of national intelligence would be required to conclude if any foreign nations interfered in elections one month after Americans cast their votes, triggering strict sanctions within 10 days if interference was detected.

And the letter came the same day the State Department announced it would impose new sanctions on Russian Federation after determining its government had used chemical or biological weapons in violation of global law in the nerve agent poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.

A reported text of the draft bill published Wednesday sent Russia's ruble to lows against the dollar last seen in April.